Breakfast In The Berra: HaHa Bar | Belconnen

It’s been a while since i’ve been out for brunch. I’ve been so busy with work, nursery planning and madly finishing my ice cream ecookbook that I often don’t surface from behind the lens until it’s dinner time.

But last week was Fathers Day. And this year is really the first time i’ve been able to celebrate it (my Dad lives in Africa). My mum recently married the most beautiful man and we inherited not only a step dad and grandfather-to-be but two new siblings too. Although the day wasn’t the beautiful Spring day we hoped for, we all met for a long lazy brunch at Ha Ha Bar in Belconnen.

Ha Ha has been around for ages and is a bar and dining room serving all day breakfast, lunch/dinner, tapas and drinks! Located in Belconnen, it’s one of the only venues I actually like in the area.

As you walk through the glass entrance door. you’ll be welcomed with polished timber floors and cosy corners that offer lounge seating and soft lighting. Not a huge venue, they make good use of the space with several tables inside and outside.

Although good all year round, Ha Ha comes into its own when the sun is out. They have a large deck overlooking the lake and is a beautiful way to spend a lazy weekend morning. The vibrant interior marry well with the bright and natural setting of the balcony.

On the weekend the place is buzzing with activity, many diners having taken advantage of the beautiful Lake Ginnenderra walks or cycle options nearby.

During the week they serve staple lunch options and is the perfect spot for a work lunch or to escape the office. Options range from pan fried snapper ($24) to dry aged sirloin ($24) to fish and chips ($19). Dinner adds a few more options including the rattitoulle ($16) or the seven hour braised lamb shoulder ($25pp – minimum 2 people).

Of a night, Ha Ha converts to a bar, catering to the after-work happy hour crowd with guest djs and a decent cocktail list.

Seeing as these post series are based around breakfast venues in Canberra I will get back to the point. The breakfast menu is wide ranging with savoury, sweet, unique and staple options to suit everyone. With such a large group, I fortunately got to sample quite a few of the options.

This is the poached eggs, speck and kipfler potatoes ($17). Probably my favourite savoury of the day, the eggs were perfectly cooked and a touch runny in the middle, the speck so salty and delicious I could have eaten a whole leg of it and the potatoes crispy and well seasoned.

This is the eggs benedict ($16) with a side of bacon. They home make the hollandaise and it is one of the best i’ve tried.

But the real stand out was the dinner-plate size hotcakes with marscapone and honeycomb butter ($14). It is literally the biggest hotcake i’ve seen in my life. I could barely finish half which my family didn’t mind because they fought for the rest.